Media Transmigration (Discussion Closed)

[Murdergurl]

Show of hands from anyone that clicked in because they were wondering just what the hell Media Transmigration was. LOL

Anyways, thanks for clicking in. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, you are almost assuredly already familiar with the setting. Nowadays, especially on RP forums, Media Transmigration is known as Isekai. I guess it caught on as a popular theme in anime, and now everyone knows it as such.

Thinking back, I can remember two very specific Saturday morning cartoons exhibiting this theme.

One was the Dungeons & Dragons animated series. It debuted in the early 80s. Basically, a group of friends go to an amusement park, and while on one of the rides they go through an inter-dimensional portal that takes them to a classic D&D world. The friends who are aged from pre-teen to teenaged, are gifted by a little dude called, "Dungeon Master", and take up the roles of various D&D classes. The premise of the show is that they go on all these little missions trying to find a way to get home.

The other cartoon I remember was Captain N, the Game Master. This cartoon was very much Nintendo, and came out in the late 80s. It featured a kid named Kevin (not really sure how old he was supposed to be) who gets sucked into a world that is basically a Hodge podge of various Nintendo game settings. Mother Brain is the main antagonist, with minions like King Hippo and the Eggplant Wizard. Meanwhile, Kevin is helped by Megaman, Kid Icarus, and Simon Belmont. Kevin has one of those old school Nintendo guns that were used for some of the games (though the only one I ever played with it was Duck Hunt).

There was also a video game on the Sega Genesis called Comix Zone. In this game, you play the comic book artist who gets trapped in his own comic book. He gets transferred in through a freak lightning storm if memory serves correctly. Meanwhile, the Main antagonist is in the "real world" and is writing and illustrating the story as you progress. The levels get harder and weirder as you go. I never beat the game, so I only know so much about it. But it's another example, nonetheless.

All of these are forms of Media Transmigration that I remember as a kid. Lately, I see a lot of Isekai RPs popping up. Essentially, they are the same thing. I'm not sure which term came first. And I don't think it really matters. However, I would like to open up a discussion about Media Transmigration as a whole.

What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? In what ways have you RP'd (or want to RP) it? What settings do you prefer or want to try out? Do you prefer fandom or original content? What types of characters do you like to see? What character tropes do you not like to see or are otherwise sick to death of?

I'm starting this discussion in an attempt to bridge common interests and (maybe/possibly/hopefully) start to work on a setting for a group RP in the future.

 

[Syntra]

I basically hate the isekai tropes, lol. You know, the ones where the hero is a total shut in loser, but somehow manages to draw on his knowledge of The Real WorldTM, build a supercomputer in a fantasy setting and basically win at life immediately. Bonus points for becoming a chick magnet instantly, too. I'm also allergic to the world being game-ified-- like, it having in-universe stats and everything. I roll my eyes so hard! I do like the concept in theory, though. What I'd want from it is struggle and fish out of water scenarios, however, and not a pathetic power fantasy.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Building on the above a version of this I like is kind of what if they go back to the real world? Like they have this epic fantasy for years then get returned back to the moment they left.

Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children is an excellent example of this.

I feel like it also pulls on Syntras idea of focusing on the fish out of water and internal struggle that would result of putting kids in this scenario.

I would say Wayard at least takes a lot of its influence from Alice Through The Looking Glass as well if we are like trying to date the trope.

 

[Murdergurl]

I basically hate the isekai tropes, lol. You know, the ones where the hero is a total shut in loser, but somehow manages to draw on his knowledge of The Real WorldTM, build a supercomputer in a fantasy setting and basically win at life immediately. Bonus points for becoming a chick magnet instantly, too. I'm also allergic to the world being game-ified-- like, it having in-universe stats and everything. I roll my eyes so hard! I do like the concept in theory, though. What I'd want from it is struggle and fish out of water scenarios, however, and not a pathetic power fantasy.

I am only vaguely familiar with the anime tropes in the setting (because I have a general distaste for anime). But I have picked up on some stuff, none-the-less. So yeah, I'm familiar with the NEET trope of the loser becoming the hero in the fantasy world, based (mostly) on the fact that he has insider information (or just stupid luck). Usually these are joined with the protagonists friends or equally common tropes: The ditsy hot girl, the overly powerful child, the silent and mysterious guy with a shadowy past... or other such derivatives. I'm sure other people could give these better definition, as I'm not as well versed in anime tropes as actual anime fans.

The recent Jumanji movies come to mind when you talk about the setting being too game-ified. Like, they had life bars and everything. Personally, I kinda like this. At least, as long as it doesn't get overly complicated. Once you start accounting for hard stats like D&D styled and try to actually incorporate it into the narrative... I imagine that becomes way too complicated and bogs don the actual fun of writing. (As you can imagine, I don't do system RPs)

Building on the above a version of this I like is kind of what if they go back to the real world? Like they have this epic fantasy for years then get returned back to the moment they left.

Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children is an excellent example of this.

I feel like it also pulls on Syntras idea of focusing on the fish out of water and internal struggle that would result of putting kids in this scenario.

I would say Wayard at least takes a lot of its influence from Alice Through The Looking Glass as well if we are like trying to date the trope.

Or like in the Narnia books/movie where after a literal lifetime stuck in the fantasy world, the siblings come back to the real world at the same moment they left. That's gotta be a real bummer. Going from a celebrated royal in a mythical realm, and then coming back to this crappy world. Hella depressing.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Oops didn’t see the final questions.

So I have used this trope in the past (admittedly with 1x1s but I think the core idea is the same you just widen the cast a bit)

1. Portal To Another World : this is the most successful version I have done of this trope. Where a person (or a group of people) are brought to another world through naturally occurring phenomena.

The “fantasy” element is largely an original creation where there are seasonal “magic storms” that open up portals into other worlds. This way you give your player characters can be from any “home” world they want.

Now in a group you would probably originally limit the number of “native” characters at first to yourself or admins. As these characters are what I can exposition fairies. Their whole point is to welcome new players to the world and explain how everything works. As the creator of the world I would usually take this role as I would be sort of explaining the setting as my partner explored it.

The setting lends itself best to slice of life / explorer plots. Where you are basically just exploring the setting/culture of the fantasy world as a newcomer. (With the exception of GM/mod characters which acted as guides).

2. Wayward Doors - this one lends itself more to kind of equal footing among GM and players. I also think it would be the one Murdergurl would appreciate more as there is not in-depth plotting required. It’s a fairly simple premise that is fleshed out by characters/players themselves. The GM would only be required to remove inactive characters and accept new players as the story progresses.

So it’s heavily based on the Wayward Children series but no knowledge of the series itself is required.

You start off with characters who have been living a fantasy life for many years (a la Narnia or Alice through the Looking Glass) however they have recently been sent home as a final test. If they can find a way back to their fantasy worlds they can go on living their fantasy lives forever. If not they are stuck in real life forever (you can add your own time limit for the roleplay)

The brilliant thing is because the home is open ended it allows you to add in new characters indefinitely. They just show up as new guests in the home who have their own test to complete. And if someone leaves the roleplay well you can just write that they past their test and moved on.

And since each child goes to their own world you don’t have to worry about fandom/original/etc. As the players make up their own “fantasy” worlds that their characters are from.

As to what the tests are that’s something the players can work put together. As it’s a kinda vague concept that can mean whatever people want to write about.

 

[Murdergurl]

So I have used this trope in the past (admittedly with 1x1s but I think the core idea is the same you just widen the cast a bit)

1. Portal To Another World : this is the most successful version I have done of this trope. Where a person (or a group of people) are brought to another world through naturally occurring phenomena.

The “fantasy” element is largely an original creation where there are seasonal “magic storms” that open up portals into other worlds. This way you give your player characters can be from any “home” world they want.

Now in a group you would probably originally limit the number of “native” characters at first to yourself or admins. As these characters are what I can exposition fairies. Their whole point is to welcome new players to the world and explain how everything works. As the creator of the world I would usually take this role as I would be sort of explaining the setting as my partner explored it.

The setting lends itself best to slice of life / explorer plots. Where you are basically just exploring the setting/culture of the fantasy world as a newcomer. (With the exception of GM/mod characters which acted as guides).

I think the portal scenario is probably one of the most common. Likely for its simplicity. Narnia, as well as the two cartoons I mentioned all use the portal plot device. Getting home is the usual end goal. because it is equally as simple. And of course, getting home inconveniently requires you to save the world from disaster.

I've also seen where death is the gateway, and you essentially "respawn" in a new world. I say respawn because you aren't born into it. Rather you just appear there fully grown with memories and all. <--- I think that one is a super common Isekai trope. With this one, you can't really get back home because well... you died.

...You start off with characters who have been living a fantasy life for many years (a la Narnia or Alice through the Looking Glass) however they have recently been sent home as a final test. If they can find a way back to their fantasy worlds they can go on living their fantasy lives forever. If not they are stuck in real life forever (you can add your own time limit for the roleplay)

I think this is what would realistically happen to people if they ever discovered a secret portal or whatever into a fantasy world. Upon coming back to reality, we'd likely obsess over finding our way back. Even with some impending evil force lurking in the backdrop, most fantasy worlds are a lot more interesting and inviting than our irl doldrums of work and bills and taxes.

 

[nerdy tangents]

So the one thing I should clarify is that in both my versions there is no need for there to be any chosen one narrative. You aren't being pulled into a world for a specific purpose you are being pulled into a world randomly (in Portal) or because something in the world speaks to your personality (Wayward).

So it allows you to open your roleplay not just to people who want to do a chosen one narrative but also people who are into more laidback escapism.

Like the reason you're sent back in Wayward is usually more about personal growth and understanding why/how you found your way over in the first place.

it's not a straight forward “I am a chosen one and must find this MacGuffin to be sent back.” it's a little more nuanced.

Which might go over some role players heads but well neither roleplay is really about succeeding at a task. In Portals you can't go home. In Wayward going back is meant to be extremely difficult.

So like as a GM you would need to manage expectations but honestly you don't strike me as the kind of person who wants “easy answers” in their roleplays.

 

[Murdergurl]

So the one thing I should clarify is that in both my versions there is no need for there to be any chosen one narrative. You aren't being pulled into a world for a specific purpose you are being pulled into a world randomly (in Portal) or because something in the world speaks to your personality (Wayward).

So it allows you to open your roleplay not just to people who want to do a chosen one narrative but also people who are into more laidback escapism.

Like the reason you're sent back in Wayward is usually more about personal growth and understanding why/how you found your way over in the first place.

it's not a straight forward “I am a chosen one and must find this MacGuffin to be sent back.” it's a little more nuanced.

Which might go over some role players heads but well neither roleplay is really about succeeding at a task. In Portals you can't go home. In Wayward going back is meant to be extremely difficult.

So like as a GM you would need to manage expectations but honestly you don't strike me as the kind of person who wants “easy answers” in their roleplays.

Almost sorta like a sandbox scenario. Explore and shoot from the hip with the narrative, so to speak. While I have always liked the freeform of this kind of narrative, it is also kind of hard to GM this way. Mostly because everything is always up in the air, and there is no real goal in sight. While this gives the most freedom to go and do whatever you want, it also creates a high likelihood of the RP stalling out because everyone just winds up floundering about. The same thing happens when a GM lets a scene hang for too long. The players get bored of waiting for something to happen... though their are usually at least a pair that over-engage and are still having a conversation with one another while everyone else is just in limbo for a plot push.

My problem with GMing has always been trying to manage player control over freedom of narrative. Do I lay out a bunch of paths that the players can go down? Or do I let them just go off on a tangent? The first option delivers the most control, but requires SO MUCH WORK because you are basically outlining a small story, and most of the paths won't even be taken. The other option is the exact opposite and I find that it almost always leads to the players dropping out from lack of direction. The ideal, of course, is to find that perfect in-between.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Murdergurl I think you might be overthinking it at bit. I GM’d essentially slice of life roleplays exclusively (when I did groups) the key is actually really simple :

Time Skip & Shared Missions.

1. Time skip is self explanatory. You give your role players a set time in each scene. I usually went with two weeks because I had a post every other day pace. So basically you get seven days to write whatever you want for the first scene them you move on. (With the option to adjust time tables as necessary to fit my players)

2. Shared Missions : so this will require you to do a bit of prep work but it doesn’t have to be super detailed. Just something along the lines of

. Scene 1 - person arrives via portal
. Scene 2 - native guide arrives
. Scene 3 - newcomers visit village
. Scene 4 - newcomers learn about religion

Now you can have some of the information preplanned or you can let your players flesh it out. You can also let the players suggest future scenes once you get through all your premise ones.

With something like wayward you can even have players suggest a scene or two for their player and then as the GM you just combine them into a more or less cohesive story.

Like being organized is a huge asset but you don’t have to do a lot of prep work as long as you explain the premise well.

Honestly time skips alone will save you SO MUCH grief.

 

[Murdergurl]

nerdy tangents I've set schedules before. I'm actually pretty good about keeping up on that. the problem I've encountered a lot is that the group tends to get bogged up. Like, one person is waiting on someone else, and that person claims to have thought it was someone elses turn, etc. Two weeks is a big window. I try to ask for a couple of posts a week. But I like to go in round-robin style. This way, everyone knows when it's their turn, and no one gets left behind because three people happened to get on and throw out two or three posts each. ya know?

I don't remember where you had mentioned it, but a co-GM will almost assuredly be needed for this endeavor. I'm basically only good at the creative end of GMing. I'm quite terrible at keeping the players on track.

Like, I can be a hard-ass and be like, "This is the schedule, please post or be left in the dirt (notwithstanding some notice of unavailability)". But I've basically lost entire groups that way. Otherwise, I become too lenient, and we wind up just perpetually waiting around for this person or that person, or the wrong person posts or someone gets too far ahead, etc. etc.

 

[Idea]

Show of hands from anyone that clicked in because they were wondering just what the hell Media Transmigration was. LOL

Spoiler

What do you like about it?

In a nutshell? Three things: Fantasy, meta and tropes.

Fantasy is the simplest to explain because it's literally just the genre fantasy. While by definition isekai isn't limited to fantasy worlds, the usual pattern is a fantasy world and it's usually what people have in mind when they think isekai (note: I will specifically be discussing isekai as I don't have a very strong opinion regarding transmigration stories outside of the specific confines of the isekai genre). Fantasy is a genre that gives a great deal of freedom in what you can make within it, but also lets you establish rules to make it so things still have some solid ground. Fantasy has the greatest advantage of any genre when it comes to the suspension of disbelief.

The second point, meta, regards the fact that isekai specifically can bring foreign elements in terms of knowledge, understanding, rules system, etc... Into a setting that would otherwise never result in them or would be incompatible with them. A character straight up trying to act against the confines of the particular story they are in is not something every genre pulls off as naturally as one where someone from the modern world is pulled into a world with that story's rules, for instance. A character with abilities or magic that is foreign to a given world has a justification built-in from being an otherworlder, whether from the world they came from or from whatever process they came into that new world from.
However, the meta manipulation isn't limited to just setting incompatibilities, it's also a great way to make internal character incompatibilities. This is most common with reincarnation-type isekai, where for instance a character may be reborn as something antithetical to what they were before.

Now the other two things, while not having the built-in immediate reasonings, could very easily be just a normal fantasy or super power system. And indeed, many isekai story's appeal can easily be just turned into a fantasy story- thus the so-called "native isekai" stories proliferation- but the main reason I would do isekai is probably because of the anime tropes. In part, I just love those tropes and I love the feeling of an anime story which they can give. It's something of an aesthetic and at times comedic appreciation, but it's also something akin to the enjoyment of playing a fandom. There's some associated joy with the original stories that using their tropes does help recapture, if to a more limited extent.
However, it also brings something else that I find quite important, which is the fact that if I use terms like "isekai" and bring up anime tropes and the like, the people who want to play that are much more likely to share my interest in anime and manga. While I don't strictly need the people who work with me to appreciate those things, working with people with whom you share interests can be a lot more rewarding, especially because I know for a fact that I consume enough anime and manga for it to have a significant impact in the kind of storytelling I like and like to make.
Lastly, the tropes also help slide in some things which don't always make sense, but make it easier to accept. Things like the game-i-fied systems (which I love) for instance.

What don't you like about it?

Honestly, isekai is one of my favorite genres so I really don't have any beef with the genre as a whole. The biggest downside it has is the tropes, and even then I really appreciate those tropes. So at most I have a problem with individual isekai stories and how they can handle the tropes and ideas within them, but not really with the genre itself.

I think probably the biggest and most general complaint I have with a lot of isekai stories I see is "they don't stick to the gimmick" and "the main character can do literally everything". Neither is always there, and the latter has instances where it isn't even bad in my opinion, but they are the two things which get me the most I feel? At least from what's coming to mind right now.

The first one is extremely common in stories titled after the MC's weakness or something supposedly detrimental, like any number "I have the weakest X but turns out it's actually the strongest because everyone else is apparently an idiot who never even tried to do anything with this or because there is an evil church repressing the knowledge about it" type isekai stories. However, an example that's really memorable for me was one of the first times I just dropped a story over this, which was a story about a dragon in a native isekai, they reincarnated into a dragon and now couldn't go anywhere near anyone and they just lived protecting the forest, and the story seemed neat until they randomly came across a fruit that gave them a human form but with all their dragon powers untouched and they went to become an adventurer at a guild. Like in one fell swoop the author just threw away the entire reason I was reading the thing.

The second one is usually described as "the MC is OP" but I don't think that's the biggest issue with it actually. The problem is the lack of something the MC can't do. Even if they are overpowered in perhaps several specializations even, I'm perfectly fine with that. It's when the MC can solve every single problem, and I do mean every single one, with what amounts to the same simple solution every time, that the problem really starts for me.

Come to think of it, there is that one tropes I really really hate in almost every isekai story: "If you're religious, you're either pretending to be, are automatically extremely guillible/stupid/stubborn or you are evil and/or insane. Clergy falling into the later usually."

In what ways have you RP'd (or want to RP) it?

---> Played it in 1x1s and group RPs as a player and GM.
---> Roleplayed it with a bigger and lesser focus on tropes
---> Played both isekai fandoms and original isekai
---> Made a pair of isekai settings on my own which I used for several isekai RPs, and also made several more worlds for specific RPs
---> Am a player in and acting as GM in a pair of D&D campaigns that use an isekai framework

What settings do you prefer or want to try out?

For isekai RPs I'm fine with the usual deal, game-i-fied fantasy, and I also like to use the settings I've made for it, though ironically I am weary of using someone else's pre-made setting. This doesn't mean I won't do it, not by any means, but I always worry about how many GMs cling too tightly to their own settings and make restrictions without working with the players to find some way to find a compromise or bring their ideas to light without breaking said setting, but then refuse to give the players the proper information for spoiler reasons, effectively forcing any player who likes to make more out there or pronounced character concepts such as myself have to stumble around in the dark hitting wall after wall without a sense of progress.

Few things get me to drop a roleplay as fast as GMing that makes me feel like I'm wasting my time by being there, or that my work can just be swept away like dust under a carpet.

Do you prefer fandom or original content?

For isekai? I think I like them about equally, under of course condition that the fandom in question is specifically an isekai fandom. Isekai into the My Hero Academia world for instance is not something I would be up to (except maybe as a concept for a dice system campaign or something), but an isekai roleplay centered on the So I'm a Spider so What? World is something I I would very much appreciate.

For me the advantage of fandom is added security- you know the sort of thing to expect, and you have an added element of shared interest that I mentioned before. However, the exploration of new possibilities, or taking of certain roles in the narrative, may also be much more limited by the pre-existing setting, so original content carries with it an expansion of what could be possible and a world more tailored to the players in the 1x1 case.

What types of characters do you like to see?

Characters playing on or even embracing tropes.

What character tropes do you not like to see or are otherwise sick to death of?

The only one that comes to mind specifically for isekai roleplay is the "I'm clergy so I must be evil" trope.

That said, there are a number of character tropes I don't like and would like to just do away with, but aside from the one I mentioned they are tropes I have a problem with in general, not ones I have a problem specifically within isekai or that I see that much more frequently in isekai roleplay.

My problem with GMing has always been trying to manage player control over freedom of narrative. Do I lay out a bunch of paths that the players can go down? Or do I let them just go off on a tangent? The first option delivers the most control, but requires SO MUCH WORK because you are basically outlining a small story, and most of the paths won't even be taken. The other option is the exact opposite and I find that it almost always leads to the players dropping out from lack of direction. The ideal, of course, is to find that perfect in-between.

Here's what I would recommend in this regard:
1. Get a driving plot
2. Get a setting
3. Build from the characters
4. Weave things together

The driving plot should generally be always encouraging players to move along. Something the narrative invites players to do. This can be the main plot, like for instance if it's a roleplay about the players being chased, then you could show snippets of the pursuers to give players a sense of urgency, and it its a mystery, always let players have some lead they could currently be pursuing. If it's more of an adventure story, then during downtimes let players know there is some event taking place or some smaller problem that needs to be solved and could use their help. The driving plot is not something you should force on the players, but it should be something which is presented to them as something they can do and which would be helpful. This way the players who need more direction have a trail they can follow.

However, some players will be more eager to do things themselves, and in that sense you want to have something beyond what the story is presenting. You want the setting to have room for them to explore and actually find something interesting. This isn't just a matter of people or locations though. If the player wants to do something, let the consequences of that play out. Short of any consequences that would entirely remove a player from the roleplay (like the character dying and there being no afterlife or ghost scenarios, or being banished to another realm with no way to actually return), these things can be used to enhance the story.

With this you give room and direction for players to act, but one thing I can't recommend enough is that whatever direction the players choose to pursue, include elements from or building from their character's backstories, powers or even personalities, likes or dislikes. People love seeing interest in their work and their work being appreciated.

Lastly put these things together over time. Have the thing players who took the initiative to explore on their own be something which helps with the main plot, or maybe that character that gave up on the adventure comes across someone from another character's past or even is recruited by the villain.

Of course, these things are easy to say, not so easy to do, and very very very complex to master. But it is a way I feel can very well work.


Hope this helps! Best of luck and happy RPing!

 

[nerdy tangents]

Murdergurl yeah I think your problem was on the admin side. You made some pretty common mistakes, especially with people who aren’t naturally organized (god knows us organizers make our own mistakes but typically on different directions)

1. You were not thorough enough in your application process. It’s not enough to just find people who can make a good character. These kind of plots require players with initiative.

An easy way to screen for this is through applications. You basically ask people to send in an application before putting in a CS.

This application has a roleplay sample, hours of availability, plot ideas, and a brief description of their character. I can PM you an example if you need a visual.


2. You need to cater your posts to your players availability. Not every player can post daily at a specific time (or even every other day at a specific time)

The problem with round robin is it will only work if you can guarantee that a person is available at a specific time week to week.

Instead I would use time skips and post limits. So to prevent people from leaving others in the dust make it so you can’t post more than once in X hours.

In addition for the people who can post once a week and want a slower pace just pair them up together.

 

[Murdergurl]

Idea

Thank you. That was very informative and thorough. You seem to have a lot of Isekai experience under your belt, and are the exact kind of PRer that I was hoping would chide in.

Now, I'm not very well-versed in anime. The ones that I'm familiar with are very dated (Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Battle Angel Alita, etc.) ... They're old, to say the least. I haven't kept up on anything recent because imo a lot of the anime I see is (for lack of a better word) a bit too juvenile. I think it's what's called Shounen that I really don't like. Stuff like Naruto and Bleach and One Piece and all that. Not my bag.

BUT, I'm really trying to connect with the RPers here. I feel maybe I just haven't put the right kind of effort. So I was looking into Isekai stuff, because it seemed uber popular. I found one called Konosuba. You have almost assuredly heard of it. I was thinking of doing an RP modeled somewhat around the same general concept/setting. But I'm not going to game-ify it to the extent of having stats and power levels and names of moves, etc. It will most likely be a fantasy setting. In all honesty, it will probably come off as kind of generic to a seasoned Isekai player. And I guess I'm counting more on the detail I put into it and delivery of the narrative to sell the idea to the members here. It won't be anime based. But the players can feel free to build off of whatever tropes they like.

I honestly feel that my biggest hurdle will definitely be the GMing if/when I do get a group together. I'm actually very apprehensive about it, as my track record for GMing is quite dismal. As I mentioned before, I'm fine with the creative end. But to me, organizing players is like herding cats.

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nerdy tangents

Believe it or not, my vetting process in the past has been VERY thorough. To the point where I had some ppl comment that I'm asking too much from applicants. I pretty much ALWAYS require writing samples. I've been RPing too long to leave my RP experience up to chance, and I always want to know what the other ppl involved write like before I agree to anything.

As far as availability, I myself am never on at any prescribed hour or day. My schedule is rather hectic, tbh. So I don't expect others to conform to anything I can't commit to myself. This is why I just do a round robin, and the next person posts when they can (within a reasonable time before they are skipped). I've been in too many RPs where the rest of the group leaves me behind because I couldn't get to the RP for a couple of days. Chatting and responding in forums is a lot easier than writing responses for RP. So while it may seem like I can respond often because of the non-RP content I leave here, IC posts are a horse of a different color.

 

[Idea]

Thank you. That was very informative and thorough. You seem to have a lot of Isekai experience under your belt, and are the exact kind of PRer that I was hoping would chide in.

Now, I'm not very well-versed in anime. The ones that I'm familiar with are very dated (Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Battle Angel Alita, etc.) ... They're old, to say the least. I haven't kept up on anything recent because imo a lot of the anime I see is (for lack of a better word) a bit too juvenile. I think it's what's called Shounen that I really don't like. Stuff like Naruto and Bleach and One Piece and all that. Not my bag.

BUT, I'm really trying to connect with the RPers here. I feel maybe I just haven't put the right kind of effort. So I was looking into Isekai stuff, because it seemed uber popular. I found one called Konosuba. You have almost assuredly heard of it. I was thinking of doing an RP modeled somewhat around the same general concept/setting. But I'm not going to game-ify it to the extent of having stats and power levels and names of moves, etc. It will most likely be a fantasy setting. In all honesty, it will probably come off as kind of generic to a seasoned Isekai player. And I guess I'm counting more on the detail I put into it and delivery of the narrative to sell the idea to the members here. It won't be anime based. But the players can feel free to build off of whatever tropes they like.

I honestly feel that my biggest hurdle will definitely be the GMing if/when I do get a group together. I'm actually very apprehensive about it, as my track record for GMing is quite dismal. As I mentioned before, I'm fine with the creative end. But to me, organizing players is like herding cats.

I don't know if going by popularity is necessarily the best way forward, but I do know you've attempted to work with your own ideas before, and maybe that didn't work out. So I'm guessing this is your way of attempting to compromise?

Feel free to slap me if I'm off the mark.

In any case, rather than generic the usual isekai audience is the kind that stuck around either despite or even because of the tropes. "A typical isekai" is very much in line with what people who are specifically passionate about that genre want. And for that reason I don't think we're the audience you want to get to.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying scrap the idea, I'm saying that the audience looking specifically for isekai, are the type who appreciate the more anime style and who are more likely to be familiar with the tropes and enjoy them. Trying to appeal to us while also not wanting to give those things is a tight rope to walk and I think you would be better served not trying to cater to us as an audience and instead focusing more on the broader fantasy audience.

In other words, I don't think you'll have success appealing to the anime isekai fans as anime isekai fans, but you might have more success using the transmigration as a base premise in which to appeal to a broader fantasy audience.

That said, if you find it worthwhile to spare the time to, and still wish to try to appeal to the isekai audience, I feel that it might help to maybe look at some isekai that appealed to that audience despite deviating more and being more in line with what I think you may have in mind. I'll try to make some recommendations based on that (my criteria were "good isekai (1), without game-i-fied worlds (2), at least somewhat representative of current isekai (3), take themselves seriously at least most of the time (4), had at least a fair degree of popularity (5)":

-Sage of Tanya the Evil (Deviates a lot in that it's going into a fantasy ww1 setting instead of a medieval fantasy setting, and the protagonist is also a bit unique as far as isekai protagonists go)
-Re:Zero (A brilliant story focused on character development and exploration)
-Isekai Shokudou (More lighthearted alternative here, very slice of life, but has several small stories in a fantasy world and a connection to our world)
-Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (considered to be one of the predecessors to much of the current understanding of Isekai, and I absolutely recommend it if one wants to understand it's roots, but fair warning it's got some uh "questionable material" in there, as the author's sense of a realistic world is very graphic)


Of course, don't feel forced to watch any of these. These are just recommendations I feel might be enjoyable and help maybe grasp more of what you'd want to appeal to isekai fans.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Show of hands from anyone that clicked in because they were wondering just what the hell Media Transmigration was. LOL

Yeaaaaaaaa XD lol

What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? In what ways have you RP'd (or want to RP) it? What settings do you prefer or want to try out? Do you prefer fandom or original content? What types of characters do you like to see? What character tropes do you not like to see or are otherwise sick to death of?

Isekai has always been a hit or miss for me. While I do like the premise of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" and other isekai anime like it, it's way too wish-fulfillment or Mary Sue-ish for me, because while we are enjoying what the world has to offer, the main character can solve problems almost effortlessly or with minimal effort. Anime like Re: Zero are a little different, because the main character is stuck in a death loop and literally cannot die for long. When he does die, he gets taken back to a certain point in time similar to a checkpoint, and he's a rather pathetic loser. Yea, he's a chick magnet, but that's after figuring out how to appease the ladies after going through a rather painful trial-and-error thing. He went from a total nerd to becoming a bit of a hardened reckless "asshole", and he learns how to read and write in their language due to retaining the memories of his past lives.

It is a rather painful venture for the guy, but that is something I adored, but it got too depressing and I stopped watching it after the main character stopped going through his death loop and ended up surviving the beatings he'd get. While I don't mind if the characters use outside knowledge to solve something in their new life, I would like them to be wrong or unlucky at times so they don't come out so "perfect". Bonus points if they don't have plot armor (while a good portion of anime are good about not doing this, there are some scenes that are a complete cop out due to storyboard issues and the writers realizing that "hey, the main character might not survive.... whoops, time to throw something in"). Plus, how do they perceive the world around them based on the community and society they grew up in? How well do they integrate into this new world? How quickly does it take for them to realize a perfectly mundane gesture in their own world is actually disrespect in the new world?

I don't only want to see it in anime, but I also want to see it in RP, where people go through culture shock, trying to figure out how to live their new life, what skills can they use in their own life if the world they are in mirrors a game or universe they were pretty attached to in their old world, what skills they can attain in this new world, and what dangers they run into and if they are capable of surviving it by proxy of "having a friend in me" or simply just running?

I see a lot of modern day settings to medieval or science fiction or fantasy settings (usually taking the place of video games or mangas in the main character's old world), so what about medieval/science fiction/fantasy character going to modern day, or medieval/fantasy characters going to science fiction settings, or medieval/science fiction characters going to fantasy settings? Hell, or even just someone from any setting going to a more dystopian time? Those are free real estate, and they aren't as capitalized as they should be. When they are used, it's kind of a passing glance or a brief mention that isn't used for the rest of the plot.

Fandoms are interesting and you can certainly have some fun with that (though figuring out if a character's special powers from one universe can be blocked by a magical counter in another universe and it's ambiguous if that special power is even magical to be countered or not, so a lot of OOC chat and semantics are involved), but I feel like it can get a bit weird because then people (at least on this site that I have seen) are more inclined with bringing in canon characters. While it is still likely that canon characters will appear in a more original world, they are less likely to be brought in.

I don't mind a lot of character tropes, if done right. It is rather subjective, but I would like to see more characters who don't know what they are doing and have mental breakdowns and existential crises trying to figure out if dimensions do exist and if they can still get back home or if everything they have been living in their own world is a lie. I want to see more psychological suffering when it comes to something like that, and I feel like it isn't done enough (granted some characters end up forgetting their old life when they get "isekai'd", but ehh). I am sick to death of plot armor, chick magnet, know-it-all characters. While people who are chick magnets are actually uncommon, it's more likely someone, who doesn't take care of themselves or who are skinny, getting thrusted into a new world filled with women wanting men, who can be strong and take care of them, won't be a chick magnet and will be too much of an unknown for any woman pursuing them outside of one night stands. Plus, women during any age prefer men to understand them before they want to start sleeping with them (unless it is a universe where one of the genders is objectified and are treated like property or some women are just "like that"). I also want to see more female characters or POCs when going into settings, whether they are rather unfavorable due to what they are or they are praised for being exotic and a "fallen angel", I don't care. I just want some more diversity when it comes to people who get "isekai'd". It seems like a lot of main characters from anime and manga are guys.

Anyway, there ya go :3

EDIT: forgot to add that I'd also like to see more characters struggle to either live their boring lives or go back to the other world they, at first, didn't want to be in. And once they get back in their world, they still retain the memories and skills of their otherworldly adventures. Maybe even some trauma that happened rears its ugly head in the old world and now they can't live their normal lives without feeling like something is missing and they need to go back or they become a hermit and become stagnant in their life until the world calls them back again.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Murdergurl so application process isn’t just about writing samples. I honestly think you might be getting back into the negative mind set again. Yeah you had bad experiences in the past but everything I am describing was the RULE where I used to roleplay. It wasn’t some random stuff I came up with, it was just how all roleplays were run.

As for round robin the point is that you are setting yourself up for failure by forcing everyone to wait on one person to post. By going a different method (time limits, posting groups, etc) you aren’t making people wait on one individual to post. Unfortunately a lot of this is stuff you can only answer once you actually have a group of players and know when they are available.

If it ever gets to that point I can give you specific examples to use for posting. But right now I can only tell you to just adjust to the players you have not your preconceived experiences.

 

[Murdergurl]

Big post. All three of ya are in there in the order you responded.

I don't know if going by popularity is necessarily the best way forward, but I do know you've attempted to work with your own ideas before, and maybe that didn't work out. So I'm guessing this is your way of attempting to compromise?

Feel free to slap me if I'm off the mark.

No slapping needed. That's pretty much exactly what I'm attempting. I'm really going out on a limb here, tbh. I'm not super comfortable GMing in the first place. And I've tried to run my own original ideas despite that (because waiting around for an RP I'm interested in isn't getting me anywhere). But nothing has really ever come of the stuff I try to get started myself. So while this isekai stuff isn't exactly my comfort zone, I AM trying to find a compromise in doing something a little more in line with what is popular, but reeling it back a little to what I'm interested in. Kind of the Murdergurl version of it, if you will.

In any case, rather than generic the usual isekai audience is the kind that stuck around either despite or even because of the tropes. "A typical isekai" is very much in line with what people who are specifically passionate about that genre want. And for that reason I don't think we're the audience you want to get to.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying scrap the idea, I'm saying that the audience looking specifically for isekai, are the type who appreciate the more anime style and who are more likely to be familiar with the tropes and enjoy them. Trying to appeal to us while also not wanting to give those things is a tight rope to walk and I think you would be better served not trying to cater to us as an audience and instead focusing more on the broader fantasy audience.

In other words, I don't think you'll have success appealing to the anime isekai fans as anime isekai fans, but you might have more success using the transmigration as a base premise in which to appeal to a broader fantasy audience.

Yeah... see the reason I chose Isekai is because it is in fact a form of Media Transmigration. And that's a thing I have an interest in as a setting. But from what you're telling me, the Isekai thing specifically is about the anime element and tropes and such. Which were the things I wasn't super keen on. And if that's what the audience will be looking for, then the idea is very sure to flop. I mean, I don't HAVE to call it an Isekai. In fact, calling it thus would probably be a misnomer.

I dunno... now I kinda feel like I went barking up the wrong tree. But the other really popular genres on RPN are even less of what I'd want to get into: Vampire/Werewolf (supernatural), DC/Marvel, and Academy stuff, etc. That's a big Nope. The isekai seemed like a good bridge.

That said, if you find it worthwhile to spare the time to, and still wish to try to appeal to the isekai audience, I feel that it might help to maybe look at some isekai that appealed to that audience despite deviating more and being more in line with what I think you may have in mind. I'll try to make some recommendations based on that (my criteria were "good isekai (1), without game-i-fied worlds (2), at least somewhat representative of current isekai (3), take themselves seriously at least most of the time (4), had at least a fair degree of popularity (5)":

-Sage of Tanya the Evil (Deviates a lot in that it's going into a fantasy ww1 setting instead of a medieval fantasy setting, and the protagonist is also a bit unique as far as isekai protagonists go)
-Re:Zero (A brilliant story focused on character development and exploration)
-Isekai Shokudou (More lighthearted alternative here, very slice of life, but has several small stories in a fantasy world and a connection to our world)
-Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (considered to be one of the predecessors to much of the current understanding of Isekai, and I absolutely recommend it if one wants to understand it's roots, but fair warning it's got some uh "questionable material" in there, as the author's sense of a realistic world is very graphic)


Of course, don't feel forced to watch any of these. These are just recommendations I feel might be enjoyable and help maybe grasp more of what you'd want to appeal to isekai fans.

I actually saw bits and pieces of the Evil Tanya one. I clicked it because I thought it was gonna be Dieselpunk. But ti's a bit too magicky with the sigils and all that.
The rest I've never heard of. I'll try to take a look at em. But I guess what I'm trying to do is take an original setting of my own and just use the isekaimethod of deliverance into it. But as you said, that's not what that crowd is looking for. As a non-fan to anime, the spirit of that genre escapes me, I think.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isekai has always been a hit or miss for me. While I do like the premise of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" and other isekai anime like it, it's way too wish-fulfillment or Mary Sue-ish for me, because while we are enjoying what the world has to offer, the main character can solve problems almost effortlessly or with minimal effort. Anime like Re: Zero are a little different, because the main character is stuck in a death loop and literally cannot die for long. When he does die, he gets taken back to a certain point in time similar to a checkpoint, and he's a rather pathetic loser. Yea, he's a chick magnet, but that's after figuring out how to appease the ladies after going through a rather painful trial-and-error thing. He went from a total nerd to becoming a bit of a hardened reckless "asshole", and he learns how to read and write in their language due to retaining the memories of his past lives.

It is a rather painful venture for the guy, but that is something I adored, but it got too depressing and I stopped watching it after the main character stopped going through his death loop and ended up surviving the beatings he'd get. While I don't mind if the characters use outside knowledge to solve something in their new life, I would like them to be wrong or unlucky at times so they don't come out so "perfect". Bonus points if they don't have plot armor (while a good portion of anime are good about not doing this, there are some scenes that are a complete cop out due to storyboard issues and the writers realizing that "hey, the main character might not survive.... whoops, time to throw something in"). Plus, how do they perceive the world around them based on the community and society they grew up in? How well do they integrate into this new world? How quickly does it take for them to realize a perfectly mundane gesture in their own world is actually disrespect in the new world?

I don't only want to see it in anime, but I also want to see it in RP, where people go through culture shock, trying to figure out how to live their new life, what skills can they use in their own life if the world they are in mirrors a game or universe they were pretty attached to in their old world, what skills they can attain in this new world, and what dangers they run into and if they are capable of surviving it by proxy of "having a friend in me" or simply just running?

Any RP I've ever GMd is very much bringing a hammer down on OP stuff and Mary Sue's. I'm very much about underdog tales. This is why I prefer Sword and Sorcery over High Fantasy. S&S is about small, localized tales instead of the world saving quest. Think of Conan the Barbarian versus Lord of the Rings. Conan is just some wayward thief discovering his roots and rescuing his gal from a kidnapping sorcerer. Meanwhile Frodo and company are out to save Middle Earth from Sauron and his armies. (Both of these are gross simplifications, but you get the idea)

Anyhow, my point is, there will most definitely not be any of this instant problem solving or sudden chick magnet stuff going on. If anything, bringing in out-of-world knowledge will get a negative reaction from the NPCs such as them chasing you out of town for being a witch, etc. The players will have to learn how to survive in the new world not only in potential combative scenarios, but navigate social interaction as well. At least, that was what I had been brainstorming thus far. It honestly has a lot less to do with anime, and is just a Media Transmigration concept in general.

I see a lot of modern day settings to medieval or science fiction or fantasy settings (usually taking the place of video games or mangas in the main character's old world), so what about medieval/science fiction/fantasy character going to modern day, or medieval/fantasy characters going to science fiction settings, or medieval/science fiction characters going to fantasy settings? Hell, or even just someone from any setting going to a more dystopian time? Those are free real estate, and they aren't as capitalized as they should be. When they are used, it's kind of a passing glance or a brief mention that isn't used for the rest of the plot.

I've seen a couple movies that have done that; take a guy from a fantasy medieval setting and drop him in modern New York or something like that... Actually, i think a princess came first and then the "knight in shining armor" came after her. Anyhow, while i appreciate the more original spin on this setting, I actually really don't care to write about modern settings at all. So I am not very likely to consider that kind of scenario.

For the peeps that are regularly engaging in RP, it may seem a little generic to go with a traditional medieval fantasy setting. But as it's been... *thinks for a moment*... damn, I think I've been going on something like two years without a successful RP taking off. Yeah, so for me, I'm more than happy to undertake a classic Medieval Fantasy Setting. This especially if I'm having to GM it in any regard. It's a role I undertake with a lot of hesitation, so I need something I'm very familiar with.

Fandoms are interesting and you can certainly have some fun with that (though figuring out if a character's special powers from one universe can be blocked by a magical counter in another universe and it's ambiguous if that special power is even magical to be countered or not, so a lot of OOC chat and semantics are involved), but I feel like it can get a bit weird because then people (at least on this site that I have seen) are more inclined with bringing in canon characters. While it is still likely that canon characters will appear in a more original world, they are less likely to be brought in.

The reason I had asked about fandom versus original content was because I was trying to gauge if the isekai peeps were all about fandom stuff. If I found it to be an overwhelming lean towards fandoms, I'd know to drop the whole venture. I'm not well-versed in any anime fandoms enough to even begin to create an RP around them. I think maybe, MAYBE, I could pull of a Vampire Hunter D RP... but not centered around D, himself. Basically just take the post-apoc sci-fi horror world and work around that. But I digress. If I do gather ebough positive interest and info in this Media Transmigration idea, it will definitely be an original setting.

I don't mind a lot of character tropes, if done right. It is rather subjective, but I would like to see more characters who don't know what they are doing and have mental breakdowns and existential crises trying to figure out if dimensions do exist and if they can still get back home or if everything they have been living in their own world is a lie. I want to see more psychological suffering when it comes to something like that, and I feel like it isn't done enough (granted some characters end up forgetting their old life when they get "isekai'd", but ehh). I am sick to death of plot armor, chick magnet, know-it-all characters. While people who are chick magnets are actually uncommon, it's more likely someone, who doesn't take care of themselves or who are skinny, getting thrusted into a new world filled with women wanting men, who can be strong and take care of them, won't be a chick magnet and will be too much of an unknown for any woman pursuing them outside of one night stands. Plus, women during any age prefer men to understand them before they want to start sleeping with them (unless it is a universe where one of the genders is objectified and are treated like property or some women are just "like that"). I also want to see more female characters or POCs when going into settings, whether they are rather unfavorable due to what they are or they are praised for being exotic and a "fallen angel", I don't care. I just want some more diversity when it comes to people who get "isekai'd". It seems like a lot of main characters from anime and manga are guys.

Again, I'm not overly familiar with all the anime tropes. But I do recognize some of the big, obvious clichés. And to reiterate, there will be absolutely nothing coming even close to the typical isekai hero that solves things with meta knowledge and gets all the girls. lol
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Murdergurl so application process isn’t just about writing samples. I honestly think you might be getting back into the negative mind set again. Yeah you had bad experiences in the past but everything I am describing was the RULE where I used to roleplay. It wasn’t some random stuff I came up with, it was just how all roleplays were run.

Yeah, I'm... easily discouraged. But I really am trying/hoping this will work out.

I've yet to be on a site that had recruitment set up to a mandatory formula. In a lot of places, it's kind of left to popular method by the members to establish the meta of how things function (with admin stepping in for various infractions). A lot of the time, I would find my own RP recruitments asking for more than the average GM. Which was usually met with complaints or general critique.

As for round robin the point is that you are setting yourself up for failure by forcing everyone to wait on one person to post. By going a different method (time limits, posting groups, etc) you aren’t making people wait on one individual to post. Unfortunately a lot of this is stuff you can only answer once you actually have a group of players and know when they are available.

If it ever gets to that point I can give you specific examples to use for posting. But right now I can only tell you to just adjust to the players you have not your preconceived experiences.

I can totally do this some other way, if that's what the players are more comfortable with. I'm just worried that the narrative will turn into a mess.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Murdergurl
I was going to quote everything, but found it a bit difficult, so I'll just make a post. XD

Idea is correct in that Isekai is a genre that is kind of hard to get the fans to join in if you don't do the Isekai things they enjoy. That's like saying having Pokemon but not having the Pokemon themselves, since Isekai is just an amalgamation of tropes and meta and variations of plot that pull fans together looking for more of something similar. Most Isekai are also video game related, or have gaming stuff. Hell, even Seven Deadly Sins, a Shuukan Shounen (similar to works like Fairy Tail, Attack on Titan, and Parasyte), have the stats in terms of power level, similar to the Dragon Ball franchise. It's just easier to figure out power balances for those of them who are more familiar with that world.

Fandoms are okay if you do it correctly. I do prefer original content, but I have seen RPs where a group of characters get sucked into a non-Isekai fandom universe and it works out just fine, so you shouldn't be doing anything too bad.

Writing samples are great and all and I use them on another site to avoid getting my RP blocked by constant infractions due to people doing less than three sentences in a post and seeing if they can understand the world I'm going for or just understand how they work.

But I've noticed that in RpN, it's rather relaxed and you don't need to have all these precautions up. Yes, past experiences have led you to be more cautious and I completely understand that (I'm absolutely terrified to start a Pokemon RP here because I absolutely despise 10-year-old characters with hardly any experience having access to Mega Evolution and I think people are going to abuse the wish-fulfillment Mary Sue trope that the games love to enforce, but realize I'm also craving it XD).

But having people post in rounds can be quite anxiety-riddling. People who don't like the feeling of having someone, let alone a group of people, waiting on them to make a post and they end up not making a post for a day or two when they are normally great at making posts end up making lackluster posts and they feel horrible and want to drop out or they just ghost, unable to really do anything about the RP due to the posting rounds causing more harm to them than it should.

This is what I have personally felt from posting in rounds, just magnified because I don't have anxiety as bad as most of the people on this site (but I have had a similar experience with homework for college, where I didn't even want to get on the college's site to turn in or look at the homework I need to finish and I felt like such a piece of shit for not doing it so I kept myself away from it and did other things until I dropped out). It feels more like a chore to me and I prefer the limitation on "be reasonable on post frequency, only do a couple posts per X amount of time" and I'll feel much better about it.

So, regardless of past experiences, just get to know the RPers you'll be RPing with. The players would also like to get to know the GM and having a bit of OOC chat in either Discord or in a chat for this thing can help break the ice and induce better RP discussions and help people figure out what they want to do in the RP. So a lot of communication goes a long way and being more communicative can help in figuring out if people are able to RP that day or make a post without them feeling too anxious about making a post. People, who are mentally incapable of doing things some people might think would be more mundane or simple, will feel more comfortable RPing. Weeding out those who aren't that great can make those who are anxious feel like they aren't enough and won't even try. So, do what nerdy tangents suggested and do the application idea before asking for characters and be casual about it and you'll get more people to stick around.

 

[Murdergurl]

Murdergurl
I was going to quote everything, but found it a bit difficult, so I'll just make a post. XD

No worries. I split up quotes responses so I don't overlook anything I wanted to respond to. I don't expect anyone else to do it in kind.

Idea is correct in that Isekai is a genre that is kind of hard to get the fans to join in if you don't do the Isekai things they enjoy. That's like saying having Pokemon but not having the Pokemon themselves, since Isekai is just an amalgamation of tropes and meta and variations of plot that pull fans together looking for more of something similar. Most Isekai are also video game related, or have gaming stuff. Hell, even Seven Deadly Sins, a Shuukan Shounen (similar to works like Fairy Tail, Attack on Titan, and Parasyte), have the stats in terms of power level, similar to the Dragon Ball franchise. It's just easier to figure out power balances for those of them who are more familiar with that world.

Fandoms are okay if you do it correctly. I do prefer original content, but I have seen RPs where a group of characters get sucked into a non-Isekai fandom universe and it works out just fine, so you shouldn't be doing anything too bad.

I'm glad you brought up pokemon. I can think of a great example using that fandom. What I'm going for would equate to the concept of how pokemon functions: going out to the wilderness and catching wild beasties, training them, then entering into competitive fighting arenas. BUT not using the pokemon themselves, nor the pokeballs, and the critters themselves not having these world-ending powers. Basically, a more "realistic" and non-fandom version of pokemon.

Would something like this fly with a pokemon crowd? I dunno. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

...having people post in rounds can be quite anxiety-riddling. People who don't like the feeling of having someone, let alone a group of people, waiting on them to make a post and they end up not making a post for a day or two when they are normally great at making posts end up making lackluster posts and they feel horrible and want to drop out or they just ghost, unable to really do anything about the RP due to the posting rounds causing more harm to them than it should.

This is what I have personally felt from posting in rounds, just magnified because I don't have anxiety as bad as most of the people on this site (but I have had a similar experience with homework for college, where I didn't even want to get on the college's site to turn in or look at the homework I need to finish and I felt like such a piece of shit for not doing it so I kept myself away from it and did other things until I dropped out). It feels more like a chore to me and I prefer the limitation on "be reasonable on post frequency, only do a couple posts per X amount of time" and I'll feel much better about it.

I'm the other way around, tbh. I like to have a designated turn to post. this way I know I have X amount of posts by the other players to go, and can work on my own post at my leisure until it's time to put it up. Otherwise, I feel like the pressure is constantly on for me to contribute something. That, and everyone else posts three or four times before I've added anything and the convos and plot have moved on before I get to really do what I wanted.

So, regardless of past experiences, just get to know the RPers you'll be RPing with. The players would also like to get to know the GM and having a bit of OOC chat in either Discord or in a chat for this thing can help break the ice and induce better RP discussions and help people figure out what they want to do in the RP. So a lot of communication goes a long way and being more communicative can help in figuring out if people are able to RP that day or make a post without them feeling too anxious about making a post. People, who are mentally incapable of doing things some people might think would be more mundane or simple, will feel more comfortable RPing. Weeding out those who aren't that great can make those who are anxious feel like they aren't enough and won't even try. So, do what nerdy tangents suggested and do the application idea before asking for characters and be casual about it and you'll get more people to stick around.

Oh, most definitely. when/if I get this thing started I will have a link to OOC set up for anyone who has any questions and/or suggestions. This along with the whole writing sample thing as well as determining pace and availability. But that's jumping the gun a bit. For now, I'm still trying to figure out how to proceed with the concept of the RP itself, and if this isekai thing is even something that will work out.

 

[Idea]

Yeah... see the reason I chose Isekai is because it is in fact a form of Media Transmigration. And that's a thing I have an interest in as a setting. But from what you're telling me, the Isekai thing specifically is about the anime element and tropes and such. Which were the things I wasn't super keen on. And if that's what the audience will be looking for, then the idea is very sure to flop. I mean, I don't HAVE to call it an Isekai. In fact, calling it thus would probably be a misnomer.

I dunno... now I kinda feel like I went barking up the wrong tree. But the other really popular genres on RPN are even less of what I'd want to get into: Vampire/Werewolf (supernatural), DC/Marvel, and Academy stuff, etc. That's a big Nope. The isekai seemed like a good bridge.

I actually saw bits and pieces of the Evil Tanya one. I clicked it because I thought it was gonna be Dieselpunk. But ti's a bit too magicky with the sigils and all that.
The rest I've never heard of. I'll try to take a look at em. But I guess what I'm trying to do is take an original setting of my own and just use the isekaimethod of deliverance into it. But as you said, that's not what that crowd is looking for. As a non-fan to anime, the spirit of that genre escapes me, I think.

Well, it's not what the isekai crowd is interested in, but I do feel you could make that idea of "isekai method of deliverance" into an original setting, like you said, and it could work with the broader fantasy audience (or other genres of audience if you'd rather drop the fantasy aspect, but if popularity is what you're after then fantasy would probably be the safest bet).

That said, after going through a few of your past interest checks I don't think most of your ideas were anything that would be particularly unpopular. The one with the goblin doesn't seem like the best since you weren't proposing an RP so much as asking other people to do the work of finding/making an RP for you, but outside of that instance your ideas weren't so different from others which I've seen taking off with quite a bit of success. There was no shortage of variety either and I think its a good thing that you strived to be honest and keep potential partners/players informed about what you were looking for and what you could offer.

The impression I get (and do take this with a grain of salt, it's the result of effectively skimming through a few interest checks and some thinking not some dedicated analysis) that maybe a bigger issue is presentation? As in, I think you present a lot of downsides but don't really sell the point of interest for other people. Your interest checks mainly consist of what you want out of the RP, and what you may have ease or trouble providing, but I don't think I saw much there that would actually showcase the interesting aspect of what you want to make, the possibilities and so on...

Like if I invite someone to a movie, and the first thing out of my mouth is that I really wanna see it now cause I'm busy next week and also about how the movie has all these technical difficulties and budget cuts in certain scenes, a brief summary of the premise may be insufficient to illicit interest or may even encounter someone already shut off.

For an example of how to apply this, in one of the interest checks there was something about an alien ship and you mentioned players could only play one race- but what if instead of saying "players can only play one race" you instead included in the premise "Our characters are (race name), a species that- (proceed to explain a few cool things about that species)". The first sounds restrictive, the second reframes the restriction by making the restriction inherent and not artificial, and by pointing out the positive/exciting aspects of it rather than the negative.

That said, don't get me wrong- if you'd like to make a transmigration story, heck even an isekai story, by all means go for it- but if it feels like you're forcing yourself, well the goal is for you to have fun with this too. There's no point if you can't have fun. I still believe that there are aspects that could be improved to improve your odds of success and the people you attract to your roleplay, without having to engage in an RP with a topic you don't like. Namely presentation, like I mentioned in this post.

 

[Murdergurl]

Idea
Long story, short: I should probably not call this an isekai, then. Because really, it isn't. And trying to pitch it to that crowd might not go so well. I'll just go with a broader Media Transmigration bit (which really doesn't need to be explained so technically). But yeah, calling it an isekai is going to convey the wrong idea.

I guess I'll pull up one of my half-baked fantasy worlds and finish it up enough for some presentation.
On that note, I'd like the opinions of all everyone who chided in, on something regarding character creation. Merciless Medic nerdy tangents Syntra

I've been deliberating on having interested players make a character using Heroforge. I could either provide generalized templates of various races for them to choose from and alter. Or they could create their own from scratch.
For Example:
Template 1
Template 2
Template 3
etc.

I currently have something around 20 different races in this manner. I just need to take the time to give them a little definition in the world so that the players can get a gist of what they're all about. Obviously, this means that they don't need to come into this world as their current human form, and could be transmigrated into a different body in the fantasy world.

 

[Idea]

I've been deliberating on having interested players make a character using Heroforge. I could either provide generalized templates of various races for them to choose from and alter. Or they could create their own from scratch.
For Example:
Template 1
Template 2
Template 3
etc.

I currently have something around 20 different races in this manner. I just need to take the time to give them a little definition in the world so that the players can get a gist of what they're all about. Obviously, this means that they don't need to come into this world as their current human form, and could be transmigrated into a different body in the fantasy world

I think it's a good idea to let players play fantasy races rather than forcing them to be stuck as humans. Whether you let them make their own race or just pick from a pool of options should be decided based on how much you value setting consistency versus player freedom, and how much you believe they would value it.

As for using hero forge, I can't really comment on that, never tried it before and I'm not sure how accessible for use (as in, simple versus complex) it is.

 

[nerdy tangents]

So if you are going with the idea of humans being transformed once they enter a new world I would actually assign the races to them.

As I am assuming in universe they aren’t getting to decide what they become? It’s some kind of automatic mystical process?

As that will allow them to give a more organic response to the process as the player has to just kind of adapt to whatever they become and thus the character has to adapt to not only an entirely new world but an entirely new body.

In this case I would most definitely have some native characters to explain what is going on and the world to the new players. Up to you who plays them.

But I think your best bet is actually to double down on the body swap/fish out of water/culture shock nature of things.

I would also make up scenes based on the assumption there is some kind of welcoming committee in the fantasy world that shows these new characters around. Whether or not the players go that exact route it will give you some broad ideas for things to flesh out at a later point in universe. (I mean even if you have the world already made up I wouldn’t explain too much of it at once. Again to feed into the body swap/fish out of water/etc. theme.)

 

[Idea]

So if you are going with the idea of humans being transformed once they enter a new world I would actually assign the races to them.

I gotta disagree there, this seems like a very quick way to antagonize players if they aren't told beforehand, and if they are told beforehand you will be significantly handicapping yourself in terms of the number of potential players. The ability to choose what your character is is a major part of the appeal of character creation and important for both short-term and long-term enjoyment of characters (as after all, if you get something that isn't what you would choose anyway, that will leave an unpleasant impression on most people). That isn't to say there aren't people who would enjoy such a thing out there, but it takes a particular kind of attitude that just isn't found in the vast majority of players to even put up with assigned races outside of their control (note that this is different from the pool of races being restricted in the first place, the problem I'm seeing with this is the presence of options without the ability to choose between them).

Furthermore, I also disagree with this reasoning:

As that will allow them to give a more organic response to the process as the player has to just kind of adapt to whatever they become and thus the character has to adapt to not only an entirely new world but an entirely new body.

Unless you're playing a self-insert (and heck, even in that situation), your character is going to have a different personality to your own, and is currently experiencing things to a degree you aren't. I don't think that forcing the players to go through not being able to choose the race their character ends up as really translates to a more organic response because:
A) If the player uses their own experience as the basis, then they will be inserting their experience through a character that wouldn't react in the same way
B) If the player is instead trying to make an appropriate reaction accounting for the character's personality and current experiences, then their own experience brings a marginal benefit to that at best.

I think it's good for the characters to have new bodies, but assigning them I believe is at the core a bad idea, especially when Murdergurl is concerned with popularity in the first place.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Sorry for the double post but what about this to explain the “welcoming committee idea (or even to help explain the history/culture of the races)

The entire planet was basically colonized via these portals. As the portals are just an accepted part of life and they have systems in place to accommodate new people joining their world.